Chelsea captain John Terry will be allowed to lift the Champions League trophy if his side overcome Bayern Munich in the final next month, Uefa has confirmed.
Terry is banned for the showpiece in Munich on May 19 after being sent off for appearing to knee Alexis Sanchez in the back during his side’s heroic semi-final victory over Barcelona on Tuesday. But Uefa have clarified that the 31-year-old does have permission to be presented with the trophy should Roberto Di Matteo’s side triumph at the Allianz Arena.
“If Chelsea win the 2012 Uefa Champions League Final, John Terry will be allowed to lift the trophy and collect the medal,” read a statement released on Thursday.
Uefa’s rules state that suspended players are only prevented from sitting on the bench. Frank Lampard was amongst a clutch of Chelsea players who wanted permission for his skipper to be involved after the match and it appears the squad’s wishes have been granted.
It is believed that there was no Uefa meeting regarding the issue, but the governing body sought to clarify the situation to avoid any confusion.
The length of Terry’s ban will be decided by the disciplinary body of Uefa on May 31 and his suspension is expected to rule him out of the European Super Cup – should Chelsea reach it – and possibly even early Champions League or Europa League group games next season.
Terry will not be on his own in missing out on the showpiece in Munich as Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles all picked up their third bookings in the competition against Barca, meaning one-match suspensions respectively.
The international players’ union FIFPro, though, has begged for clemency with Uefa to allow players on both sides to take part in the final. Bayern also have three suspended and there have been calls for Uefa to adopt Fifa’s policy for Euro 2012, where existing yellow cards will be waived after the quarter-finals.